Monday, December 16, 2013

The following is guest post by Debbie Jacobs, a senior at Clemson University enrolled in Dr. Barrett's Creative Inquiry course focused on amphibian conservation.

I am a junior at Clemson University
majoring in Environmental and Natural Resources-Conservation Biology. I have
always been fascinated by nature and have had this urge to help in any way
possible to keep it flourishing. I am currently in a Creative Inquiry that is
focused on observing and collecting data on the influence of land use
disturbance on stream salamanders.

The Southeastern United States
contains the greatest biodiversity of salamanders in the world. Most live in
wetlands occupying streams, pools of water, and rivers at various temperatures
all over the world. Salamanders use cutaneous gas exchange, which means they
breathe through their skin; this makes them a good indicator species since they
need high levels of dissolved oxygen content in the streams they occupy. If
salamander populations are decreasing in an area where they were once abundant
then it could indicate environmental pollution. An increase in local human disturbance could
be a cause in this increase of pollution. As urbanization and expansion of
development increases, debris and litter enter straight into streams altering
its composition and therefore directly effecting the population of salamanders
living in that stream. Many salamander populations are being harmed and even
destroyed from habitat loss and water pollution. Many wetlands are being
destroyed for the new development of towns. Around 40% of salamanders are
considered to be threatened in North America. They are also over-collected for
the pet trade that is making salamanders even more vulnerable.

Urbanization in Highlands NC is booming
because people love the nature that surrounds that area and everyone wants to
see those mountainous views. Such amenities lure people in from all over for
either a vacation-get-away home or retirement home, and small businesses are taking
advantage of this up-and-coming community and moving in to cater to the
upper-class desires. My
Creative Inquiry group spent the weekend in Highlands collecting field data
from two sites, a stream within the urban area in the heart of downtown and the
other stream secluded in the Highlands Botanical Garden (used as the control
group). We sampled water from each site and collected water temperature,
salinity, water pH, percent dissolved oxygen, and conductivity. After recording
the data we sampled for salamanders, in the urban stream we found 4 salamanders
total and 4 different species. In the controlled less disturbed area we found
25 salamanders total and 7 different species.

From my personal experience in
collecting field data it is very clear that urbanization directly influences
salamander population and diversity. Conservation of this species is very
important. Salamanders play a very significant role in the ecosystem, such as
breaking down organic matter for other small organisms and for the soil where
trees take up the nourishment. One valuable benefit to humans is the medical
research that is being conducted on this species to study the regeneration of
tissue. It is not too late for the salamanders; wetlands can be restored and
protected from development. Better communication with the public can be a great
start in sustaining these creatures.

The following is guest post by Randi Sims, a freshman at Clemson University enrolled in Dr. Barrett's Creative Inquiry course focused on amphibian conservation.

I am
enrolled in a Creative
Inquiry course at Clemson University
in which the question asked in the creative inquiry I am apart of has to do
with is how the movement of
human populations to a less developed location (ex-urbanization) effects salamanders.
I specifically have questioned if salamander sizes vary due to the presence of
toxic substances in the stream. Or, if these organisms simply vary in size due
to their own individual growth rates.

In answering these two questions,
the effect of common pollutants on salamanders must be identified. Because the
majority of salamanders (at least the ones most common) at our field sites are
lungless (family Plethodonitdae), their ability to absorb oxygen through their
skin is pertinent to their survival (Pauley, 2010). As a result, the species needs
clean, cool water for maintaining healthy populations. Without both of these
criteria being met, they are unable to “breathe”. What are some factors that
could keep them from being able to absorb this oxygen? Stream pollution is an
obvious one. As Purdue University has discovered: with excess
amounts of nitrogen or phosphorous in the stream, the amount of oxygen
available depletes (“Water Quality”). This occurs because of the reaction
between nitrate molecules and oxygen molecules; as well as phosphorous
molecules and oxygen molecules. Both of these factors can accelerate plant
growth and lead to oxygen deprivation in streams through photosynthesis.

As observed by Rex Springston of the Richland Times, a
specific type of salamander called the Hellbender that relies solely on its
ability to absorb oxygen through its skin, has been quickly disappearing
throughout regions in the southeast. Springston (2013) interviewed various
scientists throughout the state of Virginia who have observed this anomaly. The
majority of those interviewed agreed that pollution as well as global warming
caused by pollution has influenced the amount of Hellbenders seen in their
state.

What
does this have to do with the growth rate of salamanders you may ask? As
discovered by Wood and Orr there is direct correlation
between the size of the salamander and its oxygen intake (1967). The larger the
amphibian, the more oxygen it will require. Therefore, it can be assumed that a
larger salamander would be unable to survive in locations that more pollutants
and less oxygen were present.

Throughout
the course of this semester our class will be capturing and studying various
salamander species that have felt the strong effects of pollution through
ex-urbanization. It is obvious that the Hellbender alone is not a good enough
reference to fully confirm or deny my hypothesis; this is where collecting a
variety of species will become pertinent to this project. Because sampling
sites will be in more mountainous regions, the types of salamanders observed
will most likely include: black-bellied salamanders, shovel-nosed salamanders,
and a variety of other mountain and stream-dwelling species. When collecting
these species, I would like to identify and measure them to determine how each
specific type has faired against the adversities of pollution and
ex-urbanization. It is my hope that by the end of this creative inquiry, both
my classmates and I will be more knowledgeable about exactly what effects
ex-urbanization has on salamanders.

The following is guest post by Amanda Williams, a junior at Clemson University enrolled in Dr. Barrett's Creative Inquiry course focused on amphibian conservation.

Why are salamanders so important?

They rock!

Seriously, they do. But let us go into more so of why they
are so awesome.

Salamanders can be found in terrestrial and aquatic
environments where they play a huge role in our ecosystem bio-web. Sure, sure,
all animals play a role, but salamanders act as a top predator! I know. They’re
what?! Yes, salamanders are dominant vertebrate carnivores. Their diets are
variable depending on their range, but one theme prevails: they love
macroinvertebrates! Insects, crayfish, arachnids, crustaceans, molluscs, and
many other arthropods. Surprisingly I found that salamanders are considered as not
only a top predator, but also a keystone predator. “Keystone species prevent
dominant prey from monopolizing limited resources, thus allowing the
coexistence of additional species and/or an increase in the evenness of prey
species abundances within a community” (Menge & Freidenburg 2001). Who
cares? You should. Salamanders’ keep arthropod populations in check and
balance. Any overabundance of these species could have devastating effects on
an array of things, including: destroying leaf litter, damaging plants and
trees (leaves, roots, barks), bacterial and fungal spread, potential pathogens,
pest infestations i.e. fleas, mites, mosquitoes, amongst many more. While
everything plays a role in the bio-web, too much of anything is not a good
thing in the animal kingdom. Salamanders regulate these for the betterment of
that system.

Fortunately and conveniently, salamanders regulate others in
their genera by competition and out-sourcing.

Salamanders are top predators, but they are also prey to a
variety of animals: birds, mammals, snakes, ﬁshes, turtles, frogs, crayﬁsh,
predatory insects, and even other salamanders! I hope you can see the web
building and becoming more complex.

Now unfortunately, 29% salamander populations are in peril;
13% are currently on the Endangered Species List. You haven’t already forgotten
what I told you wouldhappen with an increase of macroinvertebrates, have you?
Yes, let that sink in.

Now that you’re all “Let’s save the salamanders!” we can
address a major issue that has dire consequences for all parties: Stream
Quality!

Why are some roundabout reasons you can think of as to why
streams are important?

I’ll list a few:

·Habitat for plant and animal species

·Water quality

·Degradation of pollutants

·Organic matter processing

The habitat one seems obvious, right? How obvious though? Do
you know how?

Streams are a unique environment and habitat; therefore, the
animal and plant life that live around and/or in them have adapted unique
characteristics to thrive in that environment. While some species are specific
to streams, others are supported by it, including: bacteria, fungi, algae,
higher plants, invertebrates, fish, amphibians, birds, and mammals. That’s a
pretty inclusive list! Many amphibians use the streams to lay their eggs in or
around; some arthropods do also!

Since we’ve learned what salamanders feast on, let’s think
about what their prey eat. If you said woody debris and leaf litter, then you
are correct! That’s organic matter processing, one of the reasons why streams
hold significance! When woody debris and leaves fall into streams, tiny organisms
feed on it and help break it down so other arthropods can eat it, too, then
salamanders eat them! We’re steadily building that web!

However, streams aren’t typically too large, and sincesalamanders
have small bodies, they tend to be very vulnerable and alterable where anthropogenic
matters are concerned. Yep, we’re talking about effects of urbanization now.
Runoffs, impervious cover, habitat loss, invasive species opportunities,
irrigation, pollution, compaction, etc. This may seem overwhelming when all you
want to do is build a house with a nice view by a stream, but it’s even more
overwhelming to the various species that called this area home before you did.
I’m not going to advocate stop building houses, that would be ridiculous of me
to say, but I do want to advocate awareness and accountability.

With the Internet conveniently surrounding us in our
day-to-day lives, we have a huge resource of knowledge, the knowledge of what I
just shared with you, as well as many, many others. But with that knowledge
comes responsibility to act. We can no longer sit idly by watching ecosystems
become decimated. We often get overwhelmed when we think of maybe saving the
rainforest. It’s too far away, it’s going against corporations, it’s too much! But
what we often fail to see is the ones right in our backyard—maybe it’s a
stream.

How can you help you may wonder?

Be mindful. That is the best answer I can give you. Be
mindful of what consequences your actions may hold for a community of animals
smaller than you. Be mindful of organizations that support clean water and
environmental protections, encourage local governments to be proactive in this.

Being at the top of the food chain, we so often forget that
our actions may have severe implications to those that go unseen in our daily
lives. Try to keep aware of that, and also never forget that we are a part of
the bio-web too.

The following is guest post by Carson Langston, a senior at Clemson University enrolled in Dr. Barrett's Creative Inquiry course focused on amphibian conservation.

As society continues to grow and develop we face new
challenges of conserving and protecting ecosystems throughout the world.
Ecosystems are fragile and dynamic. There is no recipe to construct, maintain,
or restore ecosystems, making conservation and preservation invaluable tools to
steward the earth. Even though we may
never fully understand how development has shifted ecosystems we can observe
the effects of our past actions and discern better plans for the future. One amazing example of the effects of
development over the past 300 years or so is documented in Mark Catesby’s
Natural History of Carolina, Florida, and the Bahama Islands (1729-1747).
Catesby describes salmon spawning and large numbers of bears coming to feast in
a place that seems to be close to where Clemson is today.

As we look forward we are in need of
indicators that provide signals as to the damage caused by development.
Amphibians are one of the key pieces of evidence that we are able to use to
measure the effects of development. Amphibians are such wonderful
bio-indicators because they are relatively fragile.Cutaneous respiration allows amphibians to
exist within a unique niche of aquatic and terrestrial life, while this is an
amazing feat it does not come without complications. Essentially breathing
through their skin, amphibians are much more prone to changes in their
environments. Changes in water temperature, pH, salinity, dissolved oxygen, and
the presence of heavy metals have the potential to decrease the size of the
niches that these animals fill.

While on a recent survey of
salamanders at the Coweeta Biological Station in Western North Carolina I began
to question the rates of habitat destruction in such a short period of time. To see the effects of development across the
world in the past 300 years is staggering. There are few places that we can
travel to without seeing the effects of human’s work on this planet. With the
population at such a high level and our habits of resource consumption at an
all time high, there is an urgent need to understand all of the harmful effects
development may cause to our ecosystems. Even in this remote location that we
were surveying, the effects of shifting ecosystems were present. During the survey, plant species were
inventoried within their respective plots and thesedata were collected for analysis of the stream. While reviewing the data I
started to question what changes have taken place here in the past 100 years
and our data began to provide clues a shifting ecosystem. The American Chestnut
is gone, 90% of the eastern Hemlocks that we inventoried were dead. This change
is well documented throughout the Southeast and we know that the loss of these
two dominant canopy trees can be attributed to by human activities.Even though this is a broad and general
example it provides clarity that our actions and decisions have great
consequence. The cascading effects of losing two dominant canopy trees within
such a small time has dyer consequences to life that requires such specific
conditions for survival.

Thinking back to when Mark Catesby
once explored this area we have to wonder that if our streams were in such
wonderful conditions that allowed salmon to spawn this far north, what
amphibians were in those streams and how many have we lost due to the effects
of dams, pollution, and other activities of development.With development rolling forward, will we
adopt strategies that help us to invest in our limited resources for the future
or will we continue to turn a blind eye. Man is capable of living more
sustainable lifestyles and just as the cascading effects of a species loss
works, increased implementation of sustainable development will yield results
that we can be proud of.

The following is guest post by Debbie Jacobs, a senior at Clemson University enrolled in Dr. Barrett's Creative Inquiry course focused on amphibian conservation.

Herpetology
is the study of reptiles and amphibians, encompassing the organisms that most
people would consider scary, slimy, scaly, or dangerous. However, I believe
these creatures are among the most misunderstood. Amphibians are one of the
most endangered vertebrate groups, and many species are at risk of extinction.

The
global decline in the amphibians was first noticed by the scientific community
in 1989 when the World Congressof Herpetology
met to function as a voice for international herpetological issues in
conservation. During which they discussed solutions to the rising global
amphibian concern. Recent scientific
findings have made progress towards understanding the reasons behind the
amphibian global decline. The decline is a combination of many factors such as
disease and environmental changes due to human activity. The common disease
affecting most amphibians is the widespread invasion of the Chytrid fungus
causing many of these mass extinctions. Scientists are trying to understand the
full range of factors stressing these creatures to become more susceptible to
the fungus, and acquire how the fungus can be stopped or mitigated. Recent
monitoring efforts have been successful for Costa Rica’s very diverse amphibian
population in understanding the declines and where the fungus will strike next.
These efforts have helped significantly in the conservation of endangered
amphibians in the Central American area.

Within
Costa Rica, research and monitoring has shown that areas with lack of habitat
deforestation but with an increase in climate temperatures within the last
decade has been a strong environmental factor in the reduction of the quantity
of leaf litter essential to the habitat
of amphibians of the area (Whitfield, 2006). Research to determine if Chytrid
fungus can be implicated in the mass amphibian decline in Costa Rica found that
the disease was in most areas at different altitudes before the mass declines
of amphibian population took place (Puschendorf, 2006). Other studies show that the areas where Chytrid
fungus has been most detrimental are those areas with the most influence of
human activity. Efforts to monitor the situation by predicting where the fungus
will strike next have become a race against time as species numbers decline.
Conservationists have had to resort to desperate measures to secure
preservation of certain species by keeping some in captivity until the fungus
can be eradicated out of the natural environment. As new techniques and
procedures are developing to help assist scientists in understanding how to
stop the fungus, the World Congress of Herpetology hopes to raise awareness of
the importance of amphibians, and how they serve important ecological roles. These
creatures are vital to the ecosystem and are good ecological indicators due to
their high degree of sensitivity and their ability to respond to changes in the
environment. These creatures deserve to be protected for generations to come.
Of course, it starts with you.